Tricycle with two riding modes

ABSTRACT

The present invention discloses a tricycle having two riding modes, the tricycle comprising: a frame, a single-wheel assembly and a first handlebar mounting base that are disposed at one longitudinal end of the frame, a double-wheel assembly and a second handlebar mounting base that are disposed at the other longitudinal end of the frame, a transmission mechanism disposed between the second handlebar mounting base and the first handlebar mounting base, and a handlebar assembly selectively disposed on the first handlebar mounting base or the second handlebar mounting base, the single-wheel assembly comprising a steering wheel and a first pedal for driving the steering wheel to roll, the double-wheel assembly comprising two wheels widthwise spaced apart and a second pedal for driving the two wheels to roll. The tricycle has a first riding mode with single front wheel and double rear wheels and a second riding mode with double front wheels and single rear wheel. The tricycle of the present invention may easily switch between two riding modes and may increase the fun of riding.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to tricycles. More specifically, it relates to atricycle with two riding modes, one mode being implemented with singlefront wheel and double rear wheels while the other mode beingimplemented with double front wheels and single rear wheel.

BACKGROUND ART

The normal riding mode of existing tricycles ridden by children isimplemented with single front wheel and double rear wheels, where thesingle front wheel is a steering wheel which may be controlled via ahandlebar to control steering. For sake of riding safety, the ridingmode of some tricycles is implemented with double front wheels andsingle rear wheel. For example, the Chinese patent application CN101830264A discloses a novel front-mounted type tricycle vehicle,including a novel front-mounted type motor tricycle, a novelfront-mounted type electric tricycle, and a novel front-mounted typetricycle. The tricycle vehicle has the structure of two front wheels andone rear wheel. A front fork portion comprises a direction controllever, a left-and-right eccentric steering mechanism, a front forkfixing frame, a damping device, a left wheel and a right wheel. Thedirection control lever has a pivot point in its middle, and is coupledto the front fork fixing frame by a pivot shaft. The front fork fixingframe is coupled and integrated together with the ridge of the tricyclebody. The rear wheel is disposed under the crossbar of the tricyclebody. A front saddle and a back saddle are disposed above the rearwheel. For another example, the Chinese patent application CN 1572644Adiscloses a three-wheel rolling vehicle with a front two-wheel steeringmechanism, the vechicle comprising a frame, a handlebar, a rear wheelrotating with respect to the frame, and a steering assembly whichoperates two front wheels. Two horizontal crossbars are disposed, andcoupled to side tubes via hinges and coupled to the frame via additionalhinges. The side tubes rotatablely support steering tubes. All theseexisting tricycles have only one riding mode, either a mode of singlefront wheel and double rear wheels or a mode of double front wheels andsingle rear wheel. It is not possible to simultaneously have two ridingmodes implemented on the same tricycle, not to mention to switch betweentwo riding modes. In other words, if riders are to enjoy the fun of tworiding modes, they have to own two tricycles having different ridingmodes, which is not convenient for the riders.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The technical problem to be solved by the invention is to overcome thedeficiencies existed in the prior art. The invention provides atricycle, which may easily switch between two riding modes and mayincrease the fun of riding.

The present invention discloses a tricycle having two riding modes, thetricycle comprising: a frame, a single-wheel assembly and a firsthandlebar mounting base that are disposed at one end of the frame alongits longitude, a double-wheel assembly and a second handlebar mountingbase that are disposed at the other end of the frame along itslongitude, a transmission mechanism disposed between the secondhandlebar mounting base and the first handlebar mounting base, and ahandlebar assembly selectively disposed on the first handlebar mountingbase or the second handlebar mounting base, the single-wheel assemblycomprising a steering wheel and a first pedal for driving the steeringwheel to roll, the double-wheel assembly comprising two wheelshorizontally spaced apart and a second pedal for driving the two wheelsto roll, the tricycle having a first riding mode with single front wheeland double rear wheels and a second riding mode with double front wheelsand single rear wheel.

The tricycle further comprises a saddle, the frame having disposedthereon a first saddle mounting base and a second saddle mounting base,the saddle being disposed on the first saddle mounting base in the firstriding mode, while the saddle being disposed on the second saddlemounting base in the second riding mode.

The first saddle mounting base is closer to the single-wheel assemblyand the first handlebar mounting base compared with the second saddlemounting base.

The frame comprising at its end where the double-wheel assembly and thesecond handlebar mounting base are disposed: a longitudinal ridge whichextends longitudinally and downwards at an angle of inclination and amounting frame which extends from the end of the longitudinal ridge anddownwards at an angle of inclination, the mounting frame being in theshape of “E” and comprising a horizontal ridge horizontally extendingfrom the end of the longitudinal ridge and three cantilevers extendinglongitudinally from the horizontal ridge and downwards at an angle ofinclination, where the two outer cantilevers having respectivelydisposed at their outer side one of the two wheels in the double-wheelassembly and having respectively disposed at their inner side two endsof the second pedal in the double-wheel assembly, and the middlecantilever having correspondingly disposed a central part of the secondpedal.

The single-wheel assembly further comprises a wheel impact absorptionmechanism for buffering the bounce of the steering wheel; and/or thedouble-wheel assembly further comprises two wheel impact absorptionmechanisms respectively disposed in two wheels for buffering the bounceof the two wheels.

The single-wheel assembly further comprises a clutching mechanismdisposed in the steering wheel for controlling whether the horizontalaxis of the steering wheel and the first pedal are coupled together;and/or the double-wheel assembly further comprises two clutchingmechanisms respectively disposed at the two wheels for respectivelycontrolling whether the horizontal axes of the two wheels and the secondpedal are coupled together.

The first handlebar mounting base comprises: a vertically-disposed tube,a body of steering mechanism that is disposed in the tube, and a firsttransmission interface mechanism coordinating with the body of steeringmechanism, the body of steering mechanism being coupled to thesingle-wheel assembly, and directly coordinating with the handlebarassembly to form a steering assembly in a first riding mode.

The second handlebar mounting base comprising: a vertically-disposedtube, a second transmission interface mechanism disposed in the tube,where the body of steering mechanism coordinating with the handlebarassembly through the first transmission interface mechanism, thetransmission mechanism and the second transmission interface mechanismso as to form a steering assembly in a second riding mode.

The steering assembly comprises: two discontinuous recessed members,each recessed member being an arch having two ends and distributingalong the circumference of the tube; a guidance member which may beconfigured to rotate in the two recessed members, where the rotation islimited by the two ends of each recessed member; a supporting structurefor supporting the tube; a pressure transmission member non-rotatablelyfixed on the supporting structure and coupled to the guidance memberthat may push the guidance member into one of the two recessed members,where the pressure transmission member being configured to quit theguidance member from one of the two recessed members in response to apressure.

The tricycle further comprises a housing detachably disposed on theframe.

Compared with the prior art, the tricycle of the present invention mayeasily switch between two riding modes and may increase the fun ofriding.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to understand the invention and to see how it may be carriedout in practice, embodiments will now be described, by way ofnon-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings,in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the tricycle of the present invention ina first riding mode.

FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are perspective views of the tricycle in a firstriding mode from two different perspectives according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the tricycle of the present invention ina second riding mode.

FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 are perspective views of the tricycle in a secondriding mode from two different perspectives according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the single-wheel assembly of the presentinvention.

The reference numerals are listed as follows: 1: frame; 11: first saddlemounting base; 12: second saddle mounting base; 13: longitudinal ridge;14: mounting frame; 2: single-wheel assembly; 21: steering wheel; 22:first pedal; 3: first handlebar mounting base; 31: tube; 32: body ofsteering mechanism; 33: first transmission interface mechanism; 4:double-wheel assembly; 41: wheel; 42: second pedal; 5: second handlebarmounting base; 51: tube; 52: second transmission interface mechanism; 6:handlebar assembly; 7: transmission mechanism; 8: saddle; 9: housing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

In the following description, the present utility model is furtherdescribed in detail with reference to accompanying drawings.

With reference to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the tricycle of the presentinvention is in a first riding mode. The tricycle generally comprises: aframe 1, a single-wheel assembly 2 and a first handlebar mounting base 3that are disposed at one longitudinal end of the frame, a double-wheelassembly 4 and a second handlebar mounting base 5 that are disposed atthe other end of the frame along its longitude, a transmission mechanism7 disposed between the second handlebar mounting base 5 and the firsthandlebar mounting base 3, and a handlebar assembly 6 disposed on thefirst handlebar mounting base 3. The single-wheel assembly 2 comprises asteering wheel 21 and a first pedal 22 for driving the steering wheel 21to roll. The double-wheel assembly 4 comprises two wheels 41 widthwisespaced apart, and a second pedal 42 for driving the two wheels 41 toroll.

The tricycle further comprises a housing 9 detachably disposed on theframe 1. The tricycle may have a variety of different appearances bychanging the shape or color of the housing 9.

The tricycle further comprises a saddle 8. The frame 1 has disposedthereon a first saddle mounting base 11 and a second saddle mountingbase 12. In the first riding mode, the saddle 8 is disposed on the firstsaddle mounting base 11.

More specifically, the frame 1 comprises, at its end where thedouble-wheel assembly 4 and the second handlebar mounting base 5 aredisposed, a longitudinal ridge 13 which extends longitudinally anddownwards at an angle of inclination and a mounting frame 14 whichextends from the end of the longitudinal ridge 13 and downwards at anangle of inclination. The mounting frame 14 is in the shape of “E” andcomprises a horizontal ridge extending horizontally from the end of thelongitudinal ridge and three cantilevers extending longitudinally fromthe horizontal ridge and downwards at an angle of inclination, where thetwo outer cantilevers have been respectively disposed at their outersides with one of the two wheels 41 in the double-wheel assembly 4 andhave been respectively disposed at their inner sides with two ends ofthe second pedal 42 in the double-wheel assembly 4, and the middlecantilever has been correspondingly disposed with a central part of thesecond pedal 42.

The single-wheel assembly 2 further comprises a wheel impact absorptionmechanism for buffering the bounce of the steering wheel 21. Thesingle-wheel assembly 2 further comprises a clutching mechanism disposedin the steering wheel 21 for controlling whether the horizontal axis ofthe steering wheel 21 and the first pedal 22 are coupled together.

The double-wheel assembly 4 further comprises two wheel impactabsorption mechanisms respectively disposed in two wheels 41 forbuffering the bounce of the two wheels 41. The double-wheel assembly 4further comprises two clutching mechanisms respectively disposed at thetwo wheels 41 for respectively controlling whether the horizontal axesof the two wheels 41 and the second pedal 42 are coupled together.

The wheel impact absorption mechanism may be implemented by disposing acoupling member above the horizontal axis of the wheel, a springcontacting against and located above the coupling member, and a groovelocated below the coupling member and having a cylindrical surfacematching with the horizontal axis of the wheel.

There are a variety of implementations of the clutching mechanism, whichare not herein described in detail for sake of brevity.

In a first riding mode, the clutching mechanism in the single-wheelassembly 2 shall be operated to connect the horizontal axis of thesteering wheel 21 and the first pedal 22, since a first pedal 22 isneeded to drive the steering wheel 21 to roll while the double-wheelassembly 4 is in a passive status. Further, for the sake of safety, thetwo clutching mechanisms in the double-wheel assembly 4 may be operatedso as to detach the horizontal axis of the two wheels 41 from the secondpedal 42 so that the rolling of the two wheels 41 would not bring alongthe rotation of the second pedal 42.

The first handlebar mounting base 3 comprises: a vertically-disposedtube 31, a body of steering mechanism 32 disposed in the tube 31, and afirst transmission interface mechanism 33 coordinating with the body ofsteering mechanism 32. The body of steering mechanism 32 is coupled tothe single-wheel assembly 2. The body of steering mechanism 32 directlycoordinates with the handlebar assembly 6 to form a steering assembly ina first riding mode.

One implementation of the steering assembly comprises: disposing twodiscontinuous recessed members (such as discontinuous recessed member202 at FIG. 7), each recessed member being an arch having two ends anddistributing along the circumference of the tube 31; disposing aguidance member 203 which may be configured to rotate in the tworecessed members, where the rotation is limited by the two ends of eachrecessed member; disposing a supporting structure 207 for supporting thetube 31; and disposing a pressure transmission member 208non-rotatablely fixed on the supporting structure 207 and coupled to theguidance member 203, the pressure transmission member 208 pushing theguidance member 203 into one of the two recessed members, where thepressure transmission member 208 may be configured to quit the guidancemember 203 from one of the two recessed members in response to apressure. The recessed members may be disposed in the tube 31, while theguidance member 203, the supporting structure 207, and the pressuretransmission member 208 may be disposed in the body of steeringmechanism 32. With such a structure, the radian of the recessed membermay limit the rotation angle of the handlebar assembly 6 since theradian of the accessed member may limit the rotation angle of theguidance member and the guidance member may move simultaneously with thehandlebar assembly 6. Accordingly, it is ensured that the rotation ofhandlebar assembly 6 may bring along the steering of steering wheel 21,while the rider is protected from being hit by the rotation of thehandlebar assembly 6.

With reference to FIGS. 4, 5, and 6, the tricycle of the presentinvention is in a second riding mode. The tricycle in the second ridingmode differs from that in the first riding mode mainly in that: thehandlebar assembly 6 is disposed on the second handlebar mounting base 5rather than on the first handlebar mounting base 3 as illustrated in thefirst riding mode. The saddle 8 is disposed on the second saddlemounting base 12.

In the second riding mode, the two clutching mechanisms in thedouble-wheel assembly 4 shall be operated to couple the horizontal axisof the two wheels 41 with the second pedal 42, since a second pedal 42is needed to drive the two wheels 41 to roll while the steering wheel 21is in a passive status. Further, for the sake of safety, the clutchingmechanism in the single-wheel assembly 2 may be operated so as to detachthe horizontal axis of the steering wheel 21 from the first pedal 22 sothat the rolling of the steering wheel 21 would not bring along therotation of the first pedal 22.

The second handlebar mounting base 5 comprises: a vertically-disposedtube 51, a second transmission interface mechanism 52 disposed in thetube 51, where the handlebar assembly 6 may coordinate with the body ofsteering mechanism 32 through the second transmission interfacemechanism 52, the transmission mechanism 7, and the first transmissioninterface mechanism 33 so as to form a steering assembly in a secondriding mode. The steering assembly in the second riding mode is similarto the steering assembly in the first riding mode in their structuresand operation principals, except that the tube 31 in the first ridingmode is substituted with the tube 51. The structures and operationprincipals are not herein described in detail for sake of brevity.

It is to be noted that, in the present embodiment, the first saddlemounting base 11 is, compared with the second saddle mounting base 12,closer to the single-wheel assembly 2 and the first handlebar mountingbase 3. In another embodiment, the second saddle mounting base 12 may bedesigned to be closer to the single-wheel assembly 2 and the firsthandlebar mounting base 3 compared with the first saddle mounting base11. In other embodiments, only one saddle mounting base may be disposed,where the orientations of the saddle 8 may be adjusted by spinningaround for the two riding modes. Further, the saddle 8 may be designedwithout backrest so that the orientation of the saddle does not need tobe adjusted to be suitable for the two riding modes.

Besides, in the second riding mode, the structure of the longitudinalridge 13 and the mounting frame 14 have the function of protection sincethe structure is in front of riding while the second pedal is disposedbehind the structure. In other words, the safety of the rider iseffectively ensured when facing the impact from external objects.

Compared with the prior art, the tricycle of the present invention withtwo riding modes have been disposed on the frame 1 with a firsthandlebar mounting base 3 and a second handlebar mounting base 5, andmay easily switch between a first riding mode and a second riding modeby simply changing the mounting position of the handlebar assembly 6.The first riding mode with single front wheel and double rear wheels maybe implemented by mounting the handlebar assembly 6 on the firsthandlebar mounting base 3, so that the rider may enjoy the fun of acommon tricycle by controlling the handlebar assembly 6 and the firstpedal 22. The second riding mode with two front wheels and single rearwheel may be implemented by simply mounting the handlebar assembly 6 onthe second handlebar mounting base 3, so that the rider may enjoy thefun of an inverted-type tricycle by controlling the handlebar assembly 6and the second pedal 42.

The above descriptions are merely preferred embodiments of the presentinvention, and are not intended to limit the implementations of thepresent invention. According to the primary concept and spirit of thepresent invention, those skilled in the art may readily alter or modifythese embodiments. The scope of protection of the present invention islimited by the claims.

1. A tricycle having two riding modes, the tricycle comprising: a frame;a single-wheel assembly and a first handlebar mounting base that aredisposed at one longitudinal end of said frame, wherein saidsingle-wheel assembly comprises a steering wheel; a double-wheelassembly and a second handlebar mounting base that are disposed at theother longitudinal end of said frame, wherein said double-wheelassembly, comprises two wheels widthwise spaced apart, and a pedal forrolling said two wheels; a handlebar assembly selectively disposed onsaid first handlebar mounting base or on said second handlebar mountingbase; and a transmission mechanism, which is capable of coordinatingbetween said handlebar assembly and said steering wheel, when saidhandlebar assembly is disposed on said second handlebar mounting base,for forming a steering assembly.
 2. The tricycle of claim 1, furthercomprising a saddle, said frame having disposed thereon a first saddlemounting base and a second saddle mounting base, the saddle beingdisposed on the first saddle mounting base in the first riding mode,while the saddle being disposed on the second saddle mounting base inthe second riding mode.
 3. The tricycle of claim 1, wherein thesingle-wheel assembly further comprises a wheel impact absorptionmechanism disposed in the steering wheel for buffering the bounce of thesteering wheel.
 4. The tricycle of claim 1, wherein the double-wheelassembly further comprises two wheel impact absorption mechanismsrespectively disposed in two wheels for buffering the bounce of the twowheels.
 5. The tricycle of claim 1, wherein the double-wheel assemblyfurther comprises two clutching mechanisms respectively disposed at thetwo wheels for respectively controlling whether the horizontal axes ofthe two wheels and the pedal are coupled together.
 6. The tricycle ofclaim 1, wherein the first handlebar mounting base comprises: avertically-disposed tube, a body of steering mechanism disposed in thetube, said body of steering mechanism being coupled to the single-wheelassembly and directly coordinating with the handlebar assembly to form asteering assembly in the first riding mode.
 7. The tricycle of claim 1,wherein the second handlebar mounting base comprises: avertically-disposed tube, a transmission interface mechanism disposed inthe tube, where the transmission mechanism coordinates between thehandlebar assembly and the steering wheel through said transmissioninterface mechanism, so as to form a steering assembly in the secondriding mode.
 8. The tricycle of claim 1, wherein the tricycle furthercomprises a housing detachably disposed on the frame.